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ACS Celebrates Constitution Day

September 17 marks the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, which we now commemorate annually as Constitution Day. Recognizing that one day was not enough, many organizations, schools and universities have long celebrated Constitution Week and Month. ACS and its network will also celebrate Constitution Day with events throughout September. Click on "Featured Events" below for more information. Some of the events include a luncheon with the plaintiff and attorneys who successfully challenged a major provision of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act; a Supreme Court Preview in Washington, D.C.; and "Constitution in the Classroom" sessions in schools across the country.

New Issue Briefs from ACS

In terms of “readiness to overturn legislation” the Roberts Court is “one of the most activist courts in history” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in late August. On the occasion of the 226th anniversary of the Constitution’s ratification, two leading constitutional law scholars buttress Ginsburg’s assertion with in-depth studies of high court opinions and voting behaviors that reveal the Court’s conservatives are more often the most activist.

University of Chicago law school professor Geoffrey R. Stone examines twenty high-profile Supreme Court cases on constitutional concerns and concludes that the votes of the conservative Justices “cannot be explained by any consistent theory of constitutional interpretation.” Rather, “[t]heir votes in these cases … were determined first-and-foremost by their own personal policy preferences.”

Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. famously said during his confirmation process that being a judge is akin to a baseball umpire – you just call balls and strikes. “Anyone who has paid the slightest bit of attention to the workings of the Supreme Court knows that there is much more to being a Justice” than Roberts articulated, George Washington University law school professor Alan B. Morrison writes. His Issue Brief explains when so-called judicial activism is appropriate and when it is harmful.

Constitution in the Classroom brings ACS members into primary and secondary classrooms to raise awareness of fundamental constitutional principles. As lawyers, law students and educators we have a resource that we can share with students: our knowledge and appreciation of the Constitution. By spending as little as one hour teaching in a high school, middle school or elementary school classroom, you can excite young minds about their constitutional rights and responsibilities.